Monday, November 22, 2010

Lone Survivor

This past weekend as we were getting ready to get on the bus and head to California for two games I noticed my teammate and former UNH Wildcat Jamie Fritsch had a copy of "Lone Survivor." I excitedly asked him if I could take it on the trip with me to which he obliged, not knowing I was taking it no matter what. I heard so much about the book and actually started reading it while I was at a Borders Bookstore recently and was captivated from the start, but had to take off and never got back to the book, until this past weekend. I hopped on the bus and took a little pregame nap. Not knowing we had been stuck in traffic the whole time I was sleeping, we still had a solid 4 hours of road to hit before we got to our game when I woke up. (More on that later). I opened the book and started reading where I left off. I couldn't put the book down. I mean I had to at one point because I had to go play our game, but it was incredible how quickly the time passed as I was fully enthralled (SAT word!) in the book. I rifled through 100 pages without putting it down. After the game we took off to our next city and I was back in the book again. Another 100 pages down. I ended up finishing the book when we were on our way back home after the second game. Almost 400 pages finished in two days. That has to be some kind of a record. Anyway the book is about Marcus Lutrell, a US Navy SEAL, who is the only survivor in one of the worst tragedies in US military history. He tells the story in full detail about how his team was killed and how he survived. It is truly remarkable. I have to say that ever since I graduated college where I never read any books I was supposed to read, I have really started to enjoy reading. I have to put this book right behind Travis Roy's "Eleven Seconds" as the top two books I've ever read. It was THAT good. If you haven't read the book, do yourself a favor and go get it now. You will not be disappointed.


As far as the results of our weekend, let's just say sitting on the bus for 6 hours and then going to play a game right away without a proper warmup was not a good thing for the Wranglers. We ended up losing 7-1 and I finished off with a -3 rating. Tough night for the boys. I usually would be losing my marbles about being -3 in a game like that, but after the book I just read, things didn't seem to bad. We ended up winning the next game 4-1, so not a terrible weekend.


This guy I know Karson Gillespie came to Las Vegas this past weekend and said we should meet up on Sunday when I was home from our road trip. I honestly hate the guy, but decided to humor him and meet up. No I'm just kidding, Karson is a very good friend of mine and I was pumped he was in my neighborhood and we would have a chance to meet up and catch up. He treated me to a ticket to Blue Man Group which was a pretty cool show that I have never seen. I treated him by showing him the bright lights and bud lights that Vegas has to offer. We had a great time bullspittin and reminiscing about our glory days. Never a bad time when a couple of former Terriers are mixin it up.



So there is a song on Taylor Swift's new album that I was listening...my buddy told me about so I checked it out. It's called Dear John. Apparently T-Swift had a little fling with John Mayer and he broke her little heart and so she wrote a song about it. I must say I really like the song, BUT and that is a big but, I don't agree with Swifter writing all these songs about former boyfriends and flings or whatever. Like she talks about how much she loved John Mayer and he broke her heart and lied to her and all that jazz. How long were they possibly seeing each other where she fell in love? I never heard about it and I am like a chick when it comes to celebrity gossip. I just don't get it. There are a few songs on the album that do the same thing. Pretty soon no guy is going to date her or talk to her because she will write a song about how you somehow suck. No guy wants that and believe me she will write a song about you and it will be really good and catchy and be in the top 10 and I will probably buy it on Itunes for the uncalled for jacked up price of 1.29$.






My wonderful sister Kristen, bought me an Ipod Nano for my birthday. I can't believe how small it is. I've picked boogers bigger than this. I'm really excited to get it going especially with all the new songs I purchased like Dear John, by Taylor Swift. Keeping it in the family, I checked my mail today and had a package from home. I thought it was just some paperwork, but there was a little present in it. My Mom read my last blog and decided to send me my copy of Elf I had at home. Thanks Linda!!
And speaking of Christmas I just booked my flight home for Xmas so I have a full 5 days off the week before the 25th. Count it!

I think that's it for today. Remember, you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose. Take care comb your hair.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Buzz, Your Girlfriend Woof!



It's getting to be that time of year. The holiday seasons are rapidly approaching which means a lot of good food, desserts, family time, presents and desserts. It also means the best television will be on for the next two months. Two of the greatest movies in the history of the talking picture are going to be constantly playing and I won't complain one bit. Coming in a close second is Elf, a masterpiece starring Will Ferrell. So many great one liners, catchy tunes and just a great story. Really gets you in the holiday spirit. In first place though is quite possible the best Christmas movie of all time. Home Alone. The original. There is not one bad part in the movie and it never gets old. Truth be told I'm watching the movie right now as I type. Just a timeless piece of cinematography and I don't even know if thats a word. I'd bet you all the money I make writing this blog that you can't find one person who doesn't like Home Alone. Poor Macauley Culkin,kid had some serious talent. Nothing worse than wasted talent.


Tom Morrow as Elf.


Classic


So this past weekend I finally was back in the lineup after not playing in a game since last May. I was pretty nervous going into the game, not sure how my ankle was going to hold up, or how I was going to feel conditioning wise. I felt ready though so it was all systems go. It worked out well though as I felt pretty good in the game. It might have been from the adrenaline or maybe it's the starbucks coffee. (I've been drinking a lot of Starbucks coffee lately. I'm starting to see why people are addicted to this stuff like crack). Unfortunately we lost the game in OT. Still got a point. The next night I was a little more tired, but the boys battled through and we won the game in a shootout. After the game I felt like I just finished a 7 game series. I had a tough time getting out of bed the next day. Not sure if going out after the game had anything to do with that, but we'll pretend that didn't happen. Looking forward to next weeked though and getting back into the swing of things playing full time.

The month of November is being renamed to Movember and a bunch of the fellas are growing out their mustaches for the month to raise awareness for prostate cancer. I'm joining in on this and will try and keep you updated on how my mustache looks. My 'stache is brutal though, so I may have to buffer it up with some Just For Men if it doesnt get better. Pictures will come to follow.


I saw this video floating around on facebook and my friend Tom Sullivan, owner of Sullivan Training Systems had it on his page. Pretty inspiring stuff. If you don't get all tingly inside or chills from this, you are dead.





My friend and talented musician Matt Lowell just came out with a new tune that is pretty legit...check it out here..

http://mattlowell.tumblr.com/post/1513080153/cross-the-line-here-is-a-tune-i-wrote-with



That's all for today folks. Peace in the hair grease

Monday, November 1, 2010

Post-Halloween Blog

So I waited to write this blog till after we had our Halloween Party. We went to a party at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. To say it was crazy would be an understatement. Thousands of people jammed into a concert hall rocking out and dancing all night long. There were a few DJs spinning some beats, while some other crazy acts were on stage. You weren't allowed in this party without a costume and there were definitely some good ones. I guess all of the Chilean miners were rescued because they all were at this party. I saw a few Borats, unfortunately wearing the signature bathing suit. Adam and Eve, Zach Galifinakis from The Hangover, Tiger Woods, an Avatar, Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior and the list goes on for days. Some people decided their birthday suit was a good costume idea as well. I went as Wayne Campbell from Wayne's World and my teammate Craig Switzer was Garth Algar. We were quite a hit. We didn't break character all night either. There were many photo requests and we happily obliged. The night started with a pregame party at the apartments, and from there we took a stretch F350 over to the Hard Rock, set up by Jackie Moon (Ned Lukacevic). Time to get tropical! Great start to the night.


Maxim Magazine voted this magazine one of the top 5 things to do before you die and travel channel named it one of the top 10 parties in the world. It was definitely unlike anything I've ever been to before. The night ended with a delicious trip to Jack in the Box on our way home. And yes, we had practice the next day, which wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. (Like New Years Day, Circa 2006. I'm sure the BU guys remember that).


As I said in the last post we went to the Justin Timberlake Shriners Children's Hospital Open for the pro-am round, but went back on Sunday for the Final Round. We sat up on "The Hill" and watched the 16th, 17th and 18th holes. Apparently "The Hill" is the only spot on a professional course where you can see action at three different holes. As we were sitting there an older gentleman sat down next to us so we decided to strike up a conversation. Turns out this man is pretty much the Dos Equis World's Most Interesting Man. He was actually one of the founders of the Shriners Open back in '86. He lives on the golf course, he brought the Wranglers to Las Vegas, he is friends with the founder of a small hardware store called Home Depot, he went skiing over 100 times last winter while living in his small cabin in Deer Valley, UT that sleeps 22 of his family members, AND he bought us a round of beers. He was one of those guys that you wish you could sit and talk to all day. He was so wise.

The Wranglers are off to an average start so far this season. The team is 2-3 right now and scoring is an issue. The boys just can't seem to find the back of the net. We are getting chances, but some guys are just snakebit. A few costly turnovers turn into loses. We have the talent on the team, it's just a matter of putting it all together and burying some chances. A few more bodies will be in the lineup this weekend including myself. My ankle has been feeling pretty good in practices so I think it's ready to go for the weekend. Wish me luck!

I wish I had more fun stuff to talk about, but other than Halloween, not much has been going on. Hopefully I will be able to report back after this weekend with some good news on my return to the ice.